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"Expectations change the way we perceive."



So said the man speaking from the pulpit at church last week. He went on to tell us a story about a day when he couldn't find his keys. The first place he looked was on the back of the door. His wife's keys were there. So he continued to tear the house apart looking for his own, only to remain empty-handed. He asked his wife if she knew where his keys were. She replied, "On the door." They argue about this for a bit, until he finally decides to check again--where he sees his keys hanging in the same spot he had looked first. Standing from the pulpit he said, "I'm telling you, I looked right at those keys. Right at them. And the first time I looked I saw my wife's keys. Why? Because my mind expected them to be hers."



This example may seem cliche, but how often is our vision completely skewed because of our expectations?



Some people think traveling the world is romantic and adventurous. Other people expect danger, discrimination, or are filled with anxiety and doubt. With these expectations in mind, is our experience different when we go? Do we usually see what we want to see?



So what do I see in Jerusalem?



Honestly, I didn't know what to expect when I first moved here. So many people have offered words of sympathy or comfort when I mentioned that I had graduated college, gotten married, and moved to the Middle East within the last few months. Each time I couldn't deny the logic of why I SHOULD be overwhelmed, but couldn't help but be surprised that they were more concerned about it than I was. The hardest part was saying goodbye and boarding a plane, but once that step was over, I never felt "an adjustment period." If I am still adjusting, or was adjusting, it's been subconscious.



And this morning, as my husband and I got ready for the day, with music playing throughout the apartment, Josh stopped for a moment, and said to me, "who would have thought that this girl from Indiana with almost no experience overseas would marry me, and follow me to the Middle East, no questions asked?" I responded to him something about knowing it was what God wanted for me. I say all this not for some sort of pride. Rather, I want to encourage all those reading:



Let go of your own expectations. And try to find out what God's are for you.



Is it to raise a Godly family in a small town? Praise God. Is it to serve orphans in Uganda? Praise God. Is it to raise a child with a disability? Praise God. Is it to uphold integrity in your workplace? Praise God. No matter what it is--we tend to think it has to be overseas or out of the ordinary to be of God. Not true. I came here because I believed with all my heart that it was God's expectation for me. And with that, all of my own were wiped away--and this blonde, Midwestern girl has fit into this world of Jews, Arabs, Kurds, and not much English, just fine.



Sometimes working at Shevet Achim feels like I'm trying to drink from a spraying fire hydrant. Sometimes, it's the new year (Rosh Hashannah) and the city shuts down for almost a week, and we have lots of down time. But always, those here with me surround me with support and help. I've been here now 6 weeks and I feel simultaneously as though its been a blink of an eye, and as though I've been here forever. It's been a huge change, but because of God it's been the right change.



 

"Expectations change the way we perceive."



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